#20: Get an iPad

I wanted to start off the list by completing an item on my actual 30th birthday. Looking through the list, there was one item that stood out as perfect for the occasion: #20 Get an iPad.

Greg was on board, and despite the fact that they only had 16Gb iPad 2s (and Greg wanted 32Gb), we each bought ourselves a new toy! Thanks for the sacrifice by downgrading Greg!

Afterwards, we planked in the store.

The Birthday Party

My 30th birthday party the other night was great. It was cool to see so many of my favourite people in the same place... but there was so little time to spend with each of them!

The best bit was definitely reading out the list though. I'm really happy with how enthusiastically everyone took to the idea.

Here's the concept in its entirety:

Each invitee to the party was to bring along a bucket list item idea.
The item was to be something that I had to do before I turned 40.
The person who wrote the item had to do it with me.
I would be allowed to reject 10-15% of them, but the rest I had to do my best to complete.

The items were all written down on a piece of paper and put in a bucket, and I read them one by one. Every item that I liked, I gave the author a "Brad's 30th" bucket keyring. The keyring is so that we can take a photo together with it when we complete the task given.

As I said, everybody was so into it! I really enjoyed the cheers people gave for ones they thought were good, the laughs that were had, and the encouragement people gave me to add an item to the "good" pile or the "reject" pile. About half of the rejects ended up being because they were things I'd done before. I felt bad rejecting those, because some were really good ideas; but I guess that's fate... and I almost ran out of buckets anyway!

By the end of the night I had 50 items on my bucket list. The last item to come out was written by me (yes, I added an item to my own list at the last moment). It was simply, "Plank". A new fad going round Australia where people take photos of themselves lying flat on their stomach. Silly, really, but I'm starting to appreciate how hilarious it is. Anyway, everyone at the party (with a couple of disappointing exceptions) all joined in for a big group plank.

A few items have been added to the list since that night: two that were rejected on the night, but that I later decided were good additions; and two from a couple who were turned away at the door of the pub because they had their baby with them.

So now the challenge has been laid down! I've got a list of 54 items and 10 years to get them all done. I think I'll need that whole time!